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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A discussion about race that we desperately need... a must read.” -- Bishop T.D. Jakes, Senior Pastor, The Potters House

"This is a landmark book, offering a compelling vision for the great issue of our day. Miles helps us to see God’s glory and the beauty of his image in everyone we meet. Read this book, then buy copies for all your friends. This message could change everything."

-- Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life

"The most profound message on reconciliation and healing that I have heard. It is a message that needs to be echoed throughout the world... This is a moment and a movement that you have to be a part of!" -- John Gray, Associate Pastor of Lakewood Church

"The Third Option reveals God’s way for bridging the racial divide: honoring the image of God placed in each of us. Pastor Miles' words will encourage you with a new compassion and new understanding of the heart of God for all people and equip you with the tools to help bring about change." -- Christine Caine, bestselling author and founder of A21 & Propel Women

"Every believer who wants to follow Christ’s example and to love our neighbors as ourselves must read this book." -- Chris Hodges, Senior Pastor of Church of the Highlands and author of Fresh Air and The Daniel Dilemma

"In a time where our country seems more divided racially and politically than at any other in recent history, we need a voice of reason to bring us to a place of understanding. I believe that Miles McPherson is that voice... I can't stress enough how important this work is and hope that it becomes a central part of the conversation going forward. Get the book, devour the concepts and be part of the change." -- Greg Surratt, Founding Pastor of Seacoast Church and President of the Association of Related Churches (ARC)

"The Third Option is exactly what we need to be reminded of. This is how JESUS wants us to live. Rather than separate ourselves by racism, we need to be one race united by love. We are all one people, one human world, all equal." -- Adrian Gonzalez, New York Mets

"A powerful and inspirational book. Chock full of stories, anecdotes, and wisdom that helps readers to build bridges across the great divides of race and ethnicity." -- Dr. David Anderson, Senior Pastor of Bridgeway Community Church and Author of Gracism: The Art of Inclusion

"The Third Option will not just inspire you; it will equip you with the necessary tools to advance, facilitate, and usher in a spirit of unity. You will not just be blessed, you will be transformed." -- Sam Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Church Leadership Conference (NHCLC)

"The Third Option forges the way forward for the Church; Christians armed with compassion, a new motivation, and a new understanding of the heart of God." -- Sergio De La Mora, Founding Pastor, Cornerstone Church

"Every now and then you come across a book that feels like it has trail-blazed new ground. The Third Option is one of those books. Miles McPherson’s experience as a multiracial pastor has informed this profound look into racism and offers new insight into the biblical way forward. A must-read." -- Benny Perez, Lead Pastor, The Church LV

About the Author

Miles McPherson is the Senior Pastor of the Rock Church and Academy in San Diego, California. He attended the University of New Haven, where he majored in engineering. McPherson was the university’s first player to achieve All-American honors in football and be drafted into the NFL, and he played in the league for four years. After his life spiraled out of control, he gave his heart to the Lord. He graduated from Azusa Pacific School of Theology with a Master of Divinity in 1991. He founded The Rock Church 2000, and currently more than 14,000 people attend its five weekly services. The church has five campuses throughout San Diego County and over 200 volunteer-led outreach ministries that donate over $4 million of volunteer service every year. He and his wife Debbie have three children and reside in San Diego.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Third Option

INTRODUCTION

The Third Option

N* or White Boy?

Did they just call me the N-word? School was out, and I rode my bike as fast as I could through the white neighborhood that stood between me and the safety of home.

My heart pounded as I approached an intersection and faced a red light. Please turn green, please turn green, I repeated in my head. Just in the nick of time, it did. Thank you, God! I crossed the street that served as the gateway into my neighborhood, and zoomed down the hill. I was ten blocks from home.

But I couldn’t slow down yet. In fact, entering my Black neighborhood only meant that I’d exited one potential danger zone and entered another.

“Hey, White boy!” someone called. These words shot through my body like adrenaline, making me feel fearful and anxious all over again. I flew through the streets I knew so well, trying to outpace the name-calling, threats, and insults. I didn’t slow down until I was two blocks from my house.

I grew up in a predominantly Black neighborhood called Lake-view, in Long Island, New York. But from first through eighth grade, I went to school in an all-White neighborhood called Malverne.

At the time, according to my uncle, the one and only black family who moved to Malverne was welcomed warmly—with a burning cross on their front lawn. So it is easy to understand why I never felt comfortable there.

Ocean Avenue ran between Lakeview and Malverne. Each time I pedaled across Ocean Avenue, I experienced anxiety. On this particular day, I had a legitimate reason to: some White kids from Malverne were chasing me out of their neighborhood. I was pedaling as fast as I could to outrun their threats of violence.

So imagine my devastation when—just as I entered the apparent safe haven of my own neighborhood—I heard the words Hey, White boy! As a multiracial kid, I felt like a ping-pong ball bouncing between two worlds, never feeling like I completely belonged to either.

I’m what Black people call a “high yella brother with good hair.” To some, that meant I wasn’t “black enough.” White boy was the not-so-affectionate term by which some Black kids in the neighborhood called me. The White kids used even less endearing terms to describe me.

Growing up, I felt like a perpetual outsider. Aside from my parents’ home, where diversity was embraced and celebrated, it seemed like there was nowhere I could go to fit in. And though it’s been decades since my school days in Lakeview, I still experience the same feelings today from time to time that I did back then.

You may be feeling like I did that day, wondering how you can escape the devastating impacts of racism. Maybe you’ve experienced racism personally, or know someone else who has. Maybe you feel like you’ve been wrongly blamed for racist events that happened long before you were born. Maybe you want to learn how to have a conversation about race but you’re afraid of saying the wrong thing. Maybe you’re trying to recover from the shame of being the target or a perpetrator of racism. Or maybe you’re searching for a way to deal with the race-based hate, resentment, and fear you cling to in your heart.

Whatever your reasons for picking up this book, I commend you for your courage and commitment to tackling racism head-on. I have struggled with most of the issues listed above, too, and look forward to sharing what I’ve learned with you.

Above all, I want to offer you hope. Racial unity is God’s idea, and He promises that if we ask Him for help, He will be faithful to answer us. Let’s approach God with confidence and vulnerability while we trust him to guide us in tackling this issue together.

About Me

My name is Miles McPherson, and I am the senior pastor of the Rock Church, located in “America’s Finest City”: San Diego, California.

I am the proud offspring of two Black grandfathers, a half-Chinese and half-Black grandmother, and a White grandmother. I am of mixed race, but I identify myself as Black. Consequently, the stories and feelings I share in this book are shared through the lens of a Black man.

I’m also a former NFL player. My love affair with football started when I was a kid. Every Sunday during football season, my dad, uncles, and neighbors played pickup games in the park. Even as a child, when I had the ball in my hands, no one, not even the adults, could catch me. At least, that’s how I remember it.

Football came naturally, and I loved every minute that I played, whether in the neighborhood or under stadium lights. In my youth I played in Pop Warner leagues, on my high school team, and at the University of New Haven, where I was the school’s first all-American and its first player to be drafted by and to play in the NFL.

Playing football helped me cultivate a strong sense of unity with others from an early age. I’ve always played with guys who represented all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. Going to battle with my teammates created a bond between us that bridged our differences. Football is a great tool for teaching us that what is most powerful and valuable about a person is what’s on the inside, not the outside.

Ultimately, it was also football that led me to Jesus. Having attended Catholic school all my life, I learned about God at an early age but walked away from religion after the eighth grade. One night when I was nineteen years old, while I was standing in a department store waiting for my girlfriend to get off work, two hippies who looked like Charles Manson shared the gospel with me. Learning that I was created to have a personal relationship with Jesus rocked my world, and I prayed to receive Christ as my Savior on the spot. For about ten days or so, I was in “spiritual shock.” I did not get high on drugs, I stopped having sex, and spent all day wondering what God wanted to do with my life.

The “high” I felt from my newfound relationship with Jesus eventually went away. Since I didn’t know anyone who could guide me in the growth of my faith, I returned to my old ways: partying, sleeping around, and living a wild and out-of-control lifestyle. When I joined the San Diego Chargers, I dialed it up even further.

During my first two years in the NFL, I was a “guy gone wild.” I smoked a lot of marijuana, used cocaine, and chased women. But all the while, I watched two of my teammates, Sherman Smith and Ray Preston, from afar. Those two Christian men modeled the heart of God and started challenging me to grow in my faith.

On April 12, 1984, at 5:00 a.m., I was lying on a couch in my apartment, my heart pounding in my chest. I’d been using cocaine all night. I was thinking about what those Jesus-loving hippies and my teammates, Sherman and Ray, had said and modeled for me. That morning I recommitted my life to Jesus and never touched cocaine or marijuana again. I reunited with my old girlfriend later that afternoon, and we were married five months later. I played two more years with the Chargers and became known as “the Jesus guy.”

When my four-year career with the Chargers ended, I felt the call of God on my heart to serve in ministry. I served as a youth pastor for eight years, and launched Miles Ahead Youth Crusades. Tens of thousands of kids, representing all different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, came to know Jesus personally through the ministries I led and worked in. I had finally discovered God’s true purpose for my life.

Eventually, I took over the Sunday night service at Horizon Christian Fellowship, which grew from six hundred people to over three thousand in five years. Again, these services were as diverse as our city. The Rock Church, which I later founded and of which I am now pastor, is attended, in person and online, by over twenty thousand people weekly. I’m proud of the fact that our congregation is as diverse as a bag of Skittles: 48 percent White, 28 percent Latino, 14 percent Black, 7 percent Asian, and 3 percent other ethnicities. These percentages are neither intentional nor accidental.

When we launched the Rock Church, my staff and I committed ourselves to reaching everybody in the city. We based our commitment on two foundational truths: first, that we are all made in the image of God; and second, that the church should reflect the reality that all nations will be gathered in heaven. To this day, we remain committed to these principles, and have extended our reach to five campuses and thirteen microsites, including one in Tijuana and one at a local juvenile detention center and a state prison. Through our online ministry, millions have heard the gospel, and we have recorded over one million decisions for Christ.

A lifetime of experiences—growing up a mixed-race kid in a segregated era of our nation’s history, living in diverse neighborhoods and cities, playing on a diverse NFL team, and pastoring multiethnic congregations—has given me a deeper understanding of God’s heart for his people to live in loving unity. My highest calling is to love others the way Jesus calls us to. While I’ve failed in that endeavor more times than I can count, my greatest desire is to grow more perfect in love, especially toward those who don’t look like me. This book is my earnest attempt to help you do the same.

The stories and perspectives I share are meant to answer the many questions I’ve been posed as a Black pastor of a large, urban, multiracial church. Well-meaning people of all backgrounds want to understand the racial issues that divide our nation, and what they can do to alleviate them. This book is my effort at answering their questions and encouraging us to honor each other and ourselves the way God does.

The Third Option: Honor

Do you find yourself getting angry or defensive when you think or talk about race? Do you look at the racial divide and wish there was a solution? Do you, like Rodney King, ask why we all can’t get along? If so, I want you to know that (1) you are not alone, (2) racism corrupts our souls, (3) culture promotes racism, and (4) there’s a Third Option that can set us free.

Everyone is affected by racism. Nearly every American has been a victim or a perpetrator of racism, and most have been both. On average, 83 percent of Americans believe racism is a problem in our nation. This number has remained steady over the past two decades, with the latest polls showing a spike in the percentage of Americans—now 58 percent—who believe that racism is a “big problem.”1

You may despise racism, but it affects us all, whether we know it or not. It is a corruptor of the soul that degrades and devalues those who look different from us. When we allow racism into our hearts and society, we minimize the priceless value of God’s image in others, which limits our ability to honor, love, and serve them the way God calls us to.

Culture plays a big role in perpetuating racism by wrongly insisting that there are only two options you can choose from: us or them. Culture pits one group of people against another by promoting a zero-sum-game mentality that says, “You must lose in order for me to win.”

God, however, offers us a Third Option that stands in stark contrast to the two offered by culture. God’s Third Option invites us to honor that which we have in common, the presence of His image in every person we meet. When we honor the presence of His image in others, we acknowledge their priceless value as precious and beloved of God. The Third Option empowers us to see people through God’s eyes, which enables us to treat them in a manner that honors the potential of His image in us.

Some of the greatest heroes of our faith overcame culture’s temptation to buy into the us-versus-them mentality. One example in the Old Testament is Joshua. As Joshua prepared for the battle of Jericho, he asked an approaching messenger of the Lord to identify whose “side” he was on:

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” (Joshua 5:13-14)

In this passage, the Lord’s messenger offered Joshua a way out of culture’s trap by giving him a Third Option. Joshua responded to the presence of God in humility and obedience, and reaped the benefits of God’s blessings in return. God personally intervened on Joshua’s behalf to deliver him an overwhelming victory at Jericho, because Joshua decided to choose the Third Option.

Choosing the Third Option in our hearts and culture isn’t easy; it requires intentionality, a prayerful commitment to obedience, and wholehearted trust in God’s provision. But I promise you it’s worth the effort. When we choose the Third Option, God Himself will deliver us from an us-versus-them mentality that prevents us from honoring the presence of His image in ourselves and in others.

Works in Progress

The Third Option is more than a choice; it’s a God-given mission that directs us to honor our neighbors the way that God calls us to.

Culture, on the other hand, asks us to determine whether the issue of race is something we should even concern ourselves with in the first place. Culture does this by posing an oversimplified question—Are you a racist?—and forcing us to choose yes or no in response. A small percentage of Americans would answer yes. Most of us would say no, because we’re either unaware of or unwilling to admit our biases, biases that we all have, even if they are subconscious.

Consequently, we’re likely to answer “no” in one of the following ways:

Defensiveness: I’m not a racist. I may have some biases, but they’re all justified, and that doesn’t amount to racism.

Self-righteousness: I’m not a racist. I’m a social crusader who’s “woke.” (“Woke” is slang for being aware of issues pertaining to racial and social justice.)

Helplessness: I’m not a racist, and there’s nothing I can do about racism in America.

Apathy: I’m not a racist, and racism doesn’t concern me.

Uncertainty: I’m not a racist, and I’m not entirely sure what “being racist” means.

The Third Option frees us from culture’s false dichotomy by offering us the grace we need in order to admit that we are imperfect in our love for others. The Third Option opens the eyes of our hearts so that we can acknowledge biases where they exist. And the Third Option enables us to define who we want to become, so that we can wholeheartedly pursue our God-given mission to love and honor all our neighbors equally. The Third Option acknowledges that my biases will do and say racist things, but I can learn to live more honorably.

Me, You, We

I’ve seen firsthand how racism affects individuals and communities and impacts us in different ways. I’ve witnessed racism erode our ability to live in unity with others and prevent us from recognizing the loving image of God in ourselves. I believe racism can only be conquered when individuals take ownership and responsibility for their own attitudes, words, and actions; when another’s experience is understood and honored; and when we decide to tackle racism together. To illustrate this, I have set up the book in three parts: Me, You, and We.

Me: If I want to be an agent for change, I must first purify my own heart. Or, as Scripture more bluntly says, I must first remove the plank from my own eye before I can see clearly enough to remove the speck from my brother’s. In this section, we’ll ask God to reveal racial blind spots that prevent us from honoring others, what role we play in perpetuating racism, and what God is calling us to do about it.

You: With the plank removed from my own eye, I can now see you more clearly. But in order to really understand your experience, I must step out of my comfort zone and into your shoes. Walking in another’s shoes is never a comfortable experience, but it’s essential to understanding their perspective and learning how to honor them. In this section, we’ll explore what it feels like to be the “other” and learn to empathize with those who’ve been marginalized by racism.

We: Our lives, joys, and burdens are meant to be shared in community. As Scripture says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up . . . Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12). In this section, we’ll identify ways that we can edify and honor each other as a church, a city, a community, and a country.

This book will challenge and encourage you to choose the Third Option so that you can achieve an elevated level of honor that is consistent with the priceless value of God’s image in you and your brothers and sisters of all races and ethnicities. But in order for real transformation to occur, you must be open to a new level of vulnerability with the Holy Spirit. Unity is God’s idea and can only be achieved by the Holy Spirit’s transformation of our hearts. I ask you to join me in prayer as we seek to honor God’s heart for unity.

Prayer

Lord, please prepare my heart for what I am about to read. Holy Spirit, just as a seed cannot grow into a plant unless it is planted and dies, please reveal what needs to die in me, so that You may grow a desire in my heart to move past my comfort zone and love others like You love them. Holy Spirit, I give you permission to expose that which needs to be transformed in me, and I ask You to change my heart, attitude, and actions for your glory and benefit.

In the name of our Lord, Amen.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Howard Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 11, 2018
Edition ‏ : ‎ AUTOGRAPHED / SIGNED - The Third Option: Hope for
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1501172190
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1501172199
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #1,655,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,051 in African American Demographic Studies (Books)
- #2,831 in Christian Social Issues (Books)
- #11,187 in Christian Inspirational
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Miles McPherson

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Miles McPherson is a man radically transformed by God. Even after fulfilling his youthful dreams of a successful collegiate football career and playing in the NFL, Miles was spiritually empty and on a path of destruction in the form of cocaine use.

During his second season in the NFL, two of Miles' teammates, Sherman Smith and Ray Preston, told him about God's amazing love and grace. Finally, one early morning in 1984, Miles had his first encounter with the person of Jesus Christ and decided to follow Him.

The moment Miles relinquished control of his life, God's power was evident. Miles was delivered from his drug habit, experienced positive changes in his daily life and actions, and was reunited with his girlfriend, Debbie, who is now his wife.

God soon set Miles' feet on a new path: serving in ministry, learning theology, and preaching the Gospel. Miles had great dreams as a young man, but he never imagined the joy and fulfillment he would experience in sharing God's love with others.

Customer reviews

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Customers say

Customers find this book thought-provoking and Biblically based, with one review noting it's inspirational in the first four chapters. Moreover, the book provides practical guidance through real-life examples and takes readers step-by-step through its content. Additionally, customers appreciate its social awareness, with one review describing it as a radically practical guide to racial reconciliation.

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74 customers mention content, 74 positive, 0 negative

Customers praise the book's content, finding it thought-provoking and insightful, with one customer noting that the first four chapters were particularly inspirational.

Great book to help understand the stories of people who are different and the same as me....Read more

Third Option is a great read!...Read more

This book is a good read, it's educational and informative....Read more

...He was insightful and passionate, but the book fell flat for me. I was hoping for some practical applications but was disappointed....Read more

17 customers mention informative, 17 positive, 0 negative

Customers find the book informative, appreciating its practical guidance and real-life examples throughout.

...This book is practical, useful and so very helpful in navigating our very divided nation in this delicate subject of race relations....Read more

This book is a good read, it's educational and informative....Read more

Glad I had this to listen to while I was driving long distances. Excellent info, although I strongly disagreed with 2 points Miles made....Read more

...McPherson succeeded in helping me understand my blind spots and provides tools so I can succeed in honoring others of all races....Read more

16 customers mention readability, 16 positive, 0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and consider it a must-read for all, particularly for Christians, with one customer noting it takes a step-by-step approach.

A must read for ALL Americans if we ever want to make America the great nation it could be. Go buy it.Read more

...Easy to read and full of insightful information about honoring the image of God in everyone - especially people who don't look like you!Read more

...facing and dealing with their racial issues should read, it's a quick read and it deals with issues and concerns we all face.Read more

Every Christian should read this book! The information contained within the pages of this book drip with God‘s love....Read more

10 customers mention writing style, 10 positive, 0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, describing it as well-crafted, with one customer noting how it brings hope and another mentioning its heart-wrenching stories written with care.

...Engaging and well written as well as life-changing.Read more

The third option is a concise, well written book....Read more

...It all starts with us and what we put out into the world. Very well-written and great for group discussion and personal reflection.Read more

HE IS THE BEST PASTOR EVER. ANYTHING HE WRITES IS AWESOME! HE'S AN AMAZING DUDE. I LOVE HIM! HE IS ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS....Read more

9 customers mention social awareness, 9 positive, 0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's social awareness, with one customer describing it as a radically practical guide to racial reconciliation and another noting how it helps navigate a divided nation.

Awesome in clarifying & understanding diversity and knowing what it’s like to walk in another’s shoes, see through another’s eyes. Biblically based....Read more

This is a great book for a sensitive topic such as racism. Miles has great social awareness and great steps all within this book to navigate the...Read more

...Refreshing approach that confronts all the divisiveness that the media bombards us with every day, delivered in a non-condemning tone.Read more

...This book is practical, useful and so very helpful in navigating our very divided nation in this delicate subject of race relations....Read more

7 customers mention religious, 6 positive, 1 negative

Customers appreciate the book's religious content, finding it biblically based, with one customer noting its effective use of scriptures and another describing it as a fresh approach to daily devotion.

...Biblically based. My church recommended it to the congregation. I have purchased several as gifts....Read more

...ends each chapter with practical next steps to take, reflection, and prayer....Read more

This book was solidly biblical and, unlike another book I read on racial reconciliation, left me with more answers than questions....Read more

A fresh way to approach a daily devotion. Thought-provoking, challenging, encouraging, enlightening.Read more

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K. Johnson
Hope for a racially divided nation
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2020
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The Third Option by Miles McPherson

Hope for a racially divided nation

This book is a much-needed book right now when our nation is so divided and there is so much hate. I appreciate how McPherson ends each chapter with practical next steps to take, reflection, and prayer. I believe everyone can learn and grow and The Third Option offers hope for all of us that peace and honor are possible.

The book is divided into a forward, introduction, and 4 sections:
1) Framing the problem
2) Me
3) You
4) We

In the introduction, we learn of the author’s background, personal experience with racism, and motivation for writing this book. In the first part, the author defines racism, in- and out- groups, bias, and the third option: honor.

The second, and longest section, is designed as inward reflection, to look at “me”, my feelings, biases, blind spots, and how I can shift to the honor option. One of the most notable next steps is to visit a place where I am the minority, the only person of my race, and to write about the experience.

Part 3 challenges us to think about others honorably, to have honorable assumptions, see color-coded pain, and engage in full-color conversations. The last section of the book brings it all back together. The goal of the third option is that honor would lead to joyful, Godly unity.

If you honestly desire to improve race relations and mend the divide in our schools, churches, cities, and country, I recommend this book as a great template that addresses our own heart issues and challenges us with actually taking steps toward honoring one another.

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Kathy
This book brings HOPE for the future!
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2021
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Awesome in clarifying & understanding diversity and knowing what it’s like to walk in another’s shoes, see through another’s eyes. Biblically based. My church recommended it to the congregation. I have purchased several as gifts. I think everyone needs to read this book to be better educated so that we can treat all with respect and dignity which everyone deserves. Easy to read with practical ideas for “Next Steps” at the end of each chapter.

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Amazon Customer
This IS the Gospel!
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2018
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
This is a powerhouse of a book! Pastor Miles took me on a journey through my own heart. At times it was a gentle incision, and at other times he just grabbed it and shook it to awaken me to my own prejudices. Every single person on this planet should read this and I predict this book will be translated in to multiple languages. God is in every person and this book takes the reader in a step by step manner as to how everybody should reflect the image of God and honor everyone we encounter. The image of God (which is in all of us) will replace the man-made images which are used to demean, denigrate, divide each other. Lift God and labels fall! Thank you, Pastor Miles.

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Nick Minerva
This book is a call to love your neighbor as yourself - even the one that looks different than you.
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2020
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
One of the things I most appreciate about this book is the way it works through racial divide in our country. It doesn’t rush through the issue with soundbites or headlines, but takes its time, defines the terms, and has well sourced statistics; but this is definitely not a text book. Each chapter has challenging stories of what can happen when people embrace the Third Option- when we decide to honor and love each other as fellow image-bearers of God. Miles shows us where we often have blind spots in our own lives and what we can do about them and challenges us to accept those who are in our “out group” like we do those who are in our “in-group.” In a nutshell this book is a call to love your neighbor as yourself. This book is definitely worth your time.

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Nick Minerva

This book is a call to love your neighbor as yourself - even the one that looks different than you.

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2020
One of the things I most appreciate about this book is the way it works through racial divide in our country. It doesn’t rush through the issue with soundbites or headlines, but takes its time, defines the terms, and has well sourced statistics; but this is definitely not a text book. Each chapter has challenging stories of what can happen when people embrace the Third Option- when we decide to honor and love each other as fellow image-bearers of God. Miles shows us where we often have blind spots in our own lives and what we can do about them and challenges us to accept those who are in our “out group” like we do those who are in our “in-group.” In a nutshell this book is a call to love your neighbor as yourself. This book is definitely worth your time.

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2 people found this helpful

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Robert A. Fredericks
A Rare Inspiring Book for these Times
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2020
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Shortly after the George Floyd killing, in the midst of the aftermath and protests, for the first time I set up a Facebook account after disparaging it for years, extended FB friend requests, to see what people were saying. Almost immediately a pastor I know posted about this incredible speaker, Miles McPerson, who had spoken at the annual pastor’s regional conference. i Googled his name and saw a reference to The Third Option: Hope for A Racially Divided Nation. The first four chapters were absolutely inspirational, the book written in 2018 itself prescient. There are several You Tube videos of his giving this message to churches, ranging from 30 to 60 minutes, a nice encapsulation of the book’s theme: the Third Option, picking up for its theme an encounter between Joshua (successor to Moses) having an encounter with an imposing figure on the road to Jericho. Joshua challenges him, “are you for us or against us?” The response, “Neither, I am the commander of the Lord’s army.” And both CNN and Fox News interviewed him that week; he had to be doing something right. I took on an aphorism in the book—“Listen, Learn, Love”—as my moniker when posting or responding to posts on racial matters. The primary audience is whites but after recommending the book to an African American associate he responded that in just the Introduction and forward that he was already finding himself engaging thoughts and feelings he had long suppressed, finding it immediately healing.

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Cynthia C Thompson
Packed with Reality and Positive Ways to Learn from Others
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2020
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This book is the best book I have read for this time in our history. While sharing his own experiences and those of others, the author offers practical guidance and suggestions for steps to take to learn about others and ourselves.
While written from a Christian perspective, I think any reader of any background will appreciate this book. While acknowledging differences, the author focuses on what humanity has in common and the desire for peace and hope and respect.
The work to make this love happen is our challenge!

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Top reviews from other countries

Pegs
Insightful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2020
Verified Purchase

This book presented some interesting ways of both seeing and working with difference.

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Larry O'Hara
Option 3
Reviewed in Canada on June 28, 2021
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This book made me think a lot. It changed my mind about certain things. It also helped me understand more issues that may not affect me,but certainly affect people who are not as ‘white’ as me.

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Terence
Racial healing and reconciliation are possible
Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2021
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Excellent book about racial reconciliation. It's possible if the church does the job

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Other
Love
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2019
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Love it! There really is a hope

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Amazon Customer
It make you change your way of thinking
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2019
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Great encouragement

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The Third Option: Hope for a Racially Divided Nation Hardcover – September 11, 2018

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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

The Third Option

About Me

The Third Option: Honor

Works in Progress

Me, You, We

Prayer

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Videos

About the author

Miles McPherson

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Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars Hope for a racially divided nation

5.0 out of 5 stars This book brings HOPE for the future!

5.0 out of 5 stars This IS the Gospel!

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is a call to love your neighbor as yourself - even the one that looks different than you.

This book is a call to love your neighbor as yourself - even the one that looks different than you.

Images in this review

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Inspiring Book for these Times

5.0 out of 5 stars Packed with Reality and Positive Ways to Learn from Others

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful

5.0 out of 5 stars Option 3

5.0 out of 5 stars Racial healing and reconciliation are possible

5.0 out of 5 stars Love

5.0 out of 5 stars It make you change your way of thinking

Hope for a racially divided nation

This book brings HOPE for the future!

This IS the Gospel!

This book is a call to love your neighbor as yourself - even the one that looks different than you.

A Rare Inspiring Book for these Times

Packed with Reality and Positive Ways to Learn from Others

Insightful

Option 3

Racial healing and reconciliation are possible

Love

It make you change your way of thinking